Categories

The author

Golden Bay

In Malta it’s still about 30℃ during the day (coming from a country where it’s 15℃ at most right now, that’s pretty amazing!), so where else would anyone go than to the beach?

I kind of did, but not to the actual beach. As I currently have to wait for some stuff to happen, I decided to just hop onto the first bus that would come along. It turned out to be the one to Golden Bay, one of the few sandy beaches in Malta (most of them are rocky). I didn’t have my swimsuit with me, and though skinny dipping may be fun for some people, I prefer not to be arrested for public nuisance. So if not swimming, what did I do there?

First of all, the bus drive led through the beautiful Maltese countryside, which, at least to me, is worth a visit on its own. Green hills, olive trees, cacti (love those) and small, slightly (or not so slightly) run down houses – all while you can still see the “big” cities in the distance. What I didn’t see were cows, or any animals except for birds, but then, what I referred to as green hills aren’t grassy, they’re just covered in small bushes. No grass – no cows, I guess. Still, I’d really love to go hiking or even camping there one day.

After about an hour, the bus arrived at Golden Bay, where I got out. That’s when the chameleon incident happened. While all the other people swarmed down to the beach, some even stopping at the highly overpriced snack stands, I simply enjoyed the view of the sea. It was incredibly clear and of a beautiful blue(-ish) colour. I hope the pictures will do it justice.

Then I walked along the cliffs (which isn’t as dangerous as it sounds, you just shouldn’t be afraid of heights), taking in the landscape and the sea, until I reached some sort of tower. It didn’t say what it was for anywhere, but it looked like a tiny defense tower with an amazing view. Maybe some knight just wanted to sit back and relax there while still pretending to defend the island, who knows?

Next to this building, there was a so called “remembrance grove”, made up of olive trees and sandarac gum trees (apparently Malta’s national tree). You could walk through it on a narrow footpath, which brought you past a number of remembrance plaques. On them were the life stories of world’s greatest peacemakers. Once again, Malta managed to surprise me by letting me find something as thoughtful in an unusual place like that.

Amazed, hot and thirsty, I was happy to go back home afterwards, but I’ll definitely visit that place again. As you probably think I’m completely crazy for choosing to walk around in the heat over swimming in the sea, I assure you: I’ll go for a swim next time. Definitely.